UPCOMING MEETINGS
PAST MEETINGS
Jan2023
Ayn Rand’s Conception of Metaphysics
| Author: | Alex Silverman |
| “Ayn Rand’s New Concept of Metaphysics” | |
| Commentator: | Jason Rheins |
| Chair: | Gregory Salmieri |
Jan2022
Film Authorship
| Author: | Lester Hunt (University of Wisconsin) |
| “Why Aren’t Movies any Better than they Are?” | |
| Commentator: | Andrew Kania (Trinity University) |
| Chair: | Gregory Salmieri (University of Texas) |
APR2021
The Unity of Virtue
| Author: | Neera Badhwar (University of Oklahoma / George Mason University) |
| “Aristotle and Rand on the Unity of Virtue” | |
| Commentators: | Benjamin Bayer (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Chair: | Gregory Salmieri (University of Texas) |
FEB2020
Aristotle and Rand on the Standard of Value
| Author: | Gregory Salmieri (Anthem Foundation & Rutgers University ) |
| “‘Man’s Life’ in the Ethics of Rand and Aristotle” | |
| Commentators: | Joseph Karbowski (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) |
| Chair: | James G. Lennox (University of Pittsburgh) |
JAN2020
Aristotle and Ayn Rand on Axioms
| Author: | James G. Lennox (University of Pittsburgh) |
| “Aristotle and Ayn Rand on Axioms” | |
| Commentators: | Michail Peramatzis (Oxford University) |
| Chair: | Robert Mayhew (Seton Hall) |
JAN2019
Integrity
| Author: | Carrie-Ann Biondi (Marymount Manhattan College) |
| “Being Integrated: A Labor of Self-Love” | |
| Commentators: | Christian Miller (Wake Forest University) |
| Gregory Salmieri (Anthem Foundation and Rutgers University) | |
| Chair: | Tara Smith (University of Texas, Austin) |
JAN2017
Author Meets Critics: Tara Smith’s Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System
| Critics: | Mark Graber (University of Maryland) |
| Timothy Sandefur (Goldwater Institute) | |
| Onkar Ghate (Ayn Rand Institute) | |
| Author: | Tara Smith (University of Texas, Austin) |
| Chair: | Gregory Salmieri (Anthem Foundation and Rutgers University) |
JAN2016
Biological Collectivism and the Politics of Racial Identity
| Speaker: | Jason D. Hill (DePaul University) |
| Commentator: | Gregory Salmieri (Anthem Foundation & Rutgers University) |
| Chair: | James G. Lennox (The University of Pittsburgh) |
DEC2014
The Moral Basis of Capitalism: Adam Smith, the Austrians, and Ayn Rand
| Speakers: | James R. Otteson (Yeshiva University) |
| Peter Boettke (George Mason University) | |
| Yaron Brook (Ayn Rand Institute) | |
| Chair: | James G. Lennox (The University of Pittsburgh) |
APR2014
Ayn Rand’s Theory of Rights
| Speakers: | Fred D. Miller, Jr. (University of Arizona) |
| Adam Mossoff (George Mason University) | |
| Commentator: | Matt Zwolinski (University of San Diego) |
| Chair: | Darryl Wright (Harvey Mudd College) |
DEC2013
Rand and Nozick: Moral, Social and Political Thought
| Speaker: | Lester H. Hunt (University of Wisconsin, Madison) |
| Commentator: | Onkar Ghate (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Chair: | Robert Mayhew (Seton Hall University) |
MAR2013
Capitalism, Limited Government, and Morality
| Speaker: | Michael Huemer (University of Colorado) |
| Commentator: | Harry Binswanger (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Chair: | Gregory Salmieri (Boston University) |
APR2012
Concepts and the Growth of Scientific Knowledge: The Case of “Temperature”
| Speaker: | Travis Norsen (Smith College) |
| Commentator: | Hasok Chang (University of Cambridge) |
| James G. Lennox (University of Pittsburgh) |
DEC2011
The Philosophic Basis of the Separation of Church and State: Theory and History
| Speaker: | Onkar Ghate (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Commentator: | Mark McGarvie (Univeristy of Richmond) |
APR2011
Rand and Punishment
| Speaker: | David Boonin (University of Colorado) |
| Commentator: | Irfan Khawaja (Felician College) |
APR2010
Authors Meet Critics: Essays on Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (ed. R. Mayhew)
| Introduction: | Robert Mayhew (Seaton Hall University) |
| Speakers: | William Glod (Institute for Humane Studies) |
| Lester H. Hunt (University of Wisconsin, Madison) | |
| Christine Swanton (University of Auckland) | |
| Responses: | Onkar Ghate (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Allan Gotthelf (University of Pittsburgh) | |
| Gregory Salmieri (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) | |
| Chair: | Fred D. Miller, Jr. (Bowling Green State University) |
DEC2009
The Normative Foundations of Intellectual Property: Two Perspectives
| Speaker: | Adam Mossoff (George Mason University School of Law) |
| Commentator: | Eric R. Claeys (George Mason University School of Law) |
APR2009
Reason, Choice, and the Creation of One’s Own Character
| Speaker: | Onkar Ghate (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Commentator: | Jonathan Jacobs (Colgate University) |
DEC2008
The Objectivity of Esthetic Value
| Speaker: | Harry Binswanger (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Bill Brewer (University of Warwick) | |
| Mitchell S. Green (University of Virginia) |
MAR2008
Egoistic Virtue in Nietzsche and Ayn Rand
| Speaker: | Christine Swanton (University of Auckland) |
| Commentator: | Darryl Wright (Harvey Mudd College) |
DEC2007
The Foundations of Ethics: Objectivism and Analytic Philosophy
| Speaker: | Irfan Khawaja (University of Notre Dame) |
| Commentator: | Paul Bloomfield (University of Connecticut) |
DEC2006
Author meets Critics: Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
| Speakers: | Helen Cullyer (Center for Hellenic Studies and University of Pittsburgh) |
| Lester H. Hunt (University of Wisconsin, Madison) | |
| Christine Swanton (University of Auckland) | |
| Responses: | Tara Smith (University of Texas, Austin) |
DEC2005
Ayn Rand as Aristotelian
| On Axioms: | James G. Lennox (University of Pittsburgh) |
| On Concepts: | Allan Gotthelf (University of Pittsburgh) |
| On ethics: | Fred D. Miller, Jr. (Bowling Green State University) |
| On Aesthetics: | Robert Mayhew (Seton Hall University) |
| Chair: | John M. Cooper (Princeton University) |
DEC2004
Concepts and Universals: Ayn Rand and Thomas Aquinas
| Speaker: | Douglas B. Rasmussen (St. John’s University) |
| Commentator: | Robert Pasnau (University of Colorado) |
DEC2003
Ayn Rand on Concepts, Essences, and Scientific Progress
| Speaker: | Allan Gotthelf (University of Pittsburgh) |
| James G. Lennox (University of Pittsburgh) | |
| Commentator: | Paul E. Griffiths (University of Pittsburgh) |
| Chair: | Harry Binswanger (Ayn Rand Institute) |
DEC2001
Reason, Emotion, and the Importance of Philosophy
| Speaker: | Wayne A. Davis (Georgetown University) |
| Commentator: | Darryl Wright (Harvey Mudd College) |
DEC2000
Book Discussion — Tara Smith’s Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality
| Speakers: | Irfan Khawaja (University of Notre Dame) |
| David Schmidtz (University of Arizona) | |
| Julia Driver (Dartmouth College) | |
| Responses: | Tara Smith (University of Texas, Austin) |
DEC1999
Teaching Ayn Rand in Introductory Courses
| Topic: | Free Will |
| Speaker: | Allan Gotthelf (The College of New Jersey) |
| Topic: | Ethical Egoism |
| Speaker: | Tibor Machan (Chapman University) |
DEC1998
A Philosophical Approach to Humor: Aristotle and Ayn Rand
| Speaker: | Robert Mayhew (Seton Hall University) |
| Commentator: | Richard Janko (University of London) |
DEC1997
Reason and Freedom in Ayn Rand’s Politics
| Speaker: | Darryl Wright (Harvey Mudd College) |
| Commentator: | Douglas Den Uyl (Bellarmine College) |
DEC1996
Egoism and Virtue
| Speaker: | Lester H. Hunt (University of Wisconsin, Madison) |
| Commentator: | Tara Smith (University of Texas, Austin) |
DEC1995
Recasting Business Ethics: The Moral Foundations of Business
| Speaker: | Stephen Hicks (Rockford College) |
| Commentator: | Jan Narveson (University of Waterloo) |
DEC1994
Multiculturalism and the Assault on Objectivity
| Speaker: | Gary Hull (Claremont Grad. Sch. of Business) |
| Susan Haack (University of Miami) |
DEC1993
The Fountainhead: Fifty Years Later
| Speakers: | Richard Kamber (Trenton State College) |
| Andrew Bernstein (Pace University) | |
| Neera Kapur Badhwar (University of Oklahoma) |
DEC1992
Ayn Rand on Kant’s Metaphysics
| Speaker: | George Walsh (Salisbury State University) |
| Commentator: | Fred D. Miller (Bowling Green State University) |
DEC1990
Ayn Rand on Obligation and Value
| Speakers: | Douglas Rasmussen (St. John’s University) |
| Allan Gotthelf (Trenton State College) |
DEC1989
The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts
| Speaker: | Harry Binswanger (Ayn Rand Institute) |
| Commentator: | William Bechtel (Georgia State University) |
DEC1988
Perceptual Appearance: Realism vs. Representationalism
| Speaker: | David Kelley (Verbank, NY) |
| Commentator: | Jaegwon Kim (Brown University) |